Sunday, April 29, 2012

Hejira

Reuters reports that the deputy head of the Iraqi Parliament's Security and Defense Committee, Iskander Witwit, has declared that 24 of the F-16 fighter jets will arrive at the start of 2014. That's 24 out of thirty-six. This isn't a surprise. And, for some, it's a cause for alarm. At the start of the month, Wladimir van Wilgenburg (Rudaw) reported:

After
increased tensions between the Iraqi and the Kurdish governments,
Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani told Alhurra TV last Thursday
that Baghdad is considering the use of F-16 fighter planes against the
Kurds.In the interview,
Barzani says the issue with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is not
personal, but it is about his dictatorial policies. "I still consider
him a brother and a friend," he said. According to Barzani, division
commanders in the Iraqi army are supposed to be approved by parliament,
but this hasn't happened.Barzani
told Alhurra that he has confronted the Iraqi PM many times and been
told by Maliki that he will act, but he hasn't, and suggested there is
talk of a "military solution" to confront the Kurds in Baghdad. Barzani
said that in an official meeting with Iraqi military commanders, it was
stated that they should wait for F-16s to arrive to help push back the
Kurds.

Though KRG President Massoud Barzani has called out the planned delivery and stated that it puts many in danger if Nouri is over those F-16s, the State Dept has dismissed any concerns over the weapons transfer. From the April 23rd snapshot when White House Spokesperson Victoria Nuland was asked about the weapons deal:

QUESTION: About the -- just a follow-up about
an oil agreement made by Exxon-Mobil and KRG. Since it's an American
company, the Exxon-Mobil, this agreement is excluding Baghdad
Government's role in the use of oil in KRG region. Do you have any
comment? How do you see this agreement? Is it threatening to unity of
Iraq, or how do you see Exxon-Mobil and KRG oil agreement?

MS.
NULAND: We've talked about this issue many times. Our position on it
has not changed, that we think the lack of a comprehensive oil agreement
is holding Iraq back, that we've called on all sides to continue to
work through what is necessary to come up with a national oil policy.
And we also regularly counsel our companies, including Exxon, about the
fact that there isn't such an agreement. So I think we'll have a little
bit more to say on the issues of Iraq and energy later today. We're
going to have -- we have the U.S.-Iraqi energy dialogue going on, and
we'll have some folks briefing later this afternoon on those things.

Meanwhile Jason Ditz (Antiwar.com) reported today that "Iraqi MP Sami al-Askari, a State of Law member and top aide to Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki, has termed the Kurdistan Regional Government’s
weaponry a 'threat' to Maliki’s continued rule." Margaret Griffis covers it here. Let's do something that the press and children don't like to do, let's apply logic.

Which is more possible, the person who controls 15 provinces attacking three provinces in an all out war or the person who controls 3 provinces attacking someone who controls 15?

For those not wanting a suicide mission, it's the one with 15 provinces. That would be Nouri. In addition, context, the KRG isn't just about the KRG. There are Kurds around the world who watch closely to see what happens in the KRG. And KRG leaders know that. Meaning they know that their starting a war that they would likely lose would result in mass condemnation from Kurds everywhere who would note that the closest thing to a Kurdish homeland -- a desire millions of Kurds have -- was destroyed to start an unwinnable war.

So, no, it's not logical that the Kurds would attack Baghdad. Might they use the weapons to defend themselves/ Damn right they would. And if, in defending themselves, a war broke out, Kurds around the world would be more tolerant of a loss realizing that Iraqi Kurds were standing up for a dream held by many Kurds.

The Kurds would be stupid to let go of their tanks and other weapons. They needed them against Saddamn, they still need them against Nouri.

I'm traveling in some vehicleI'm sitting in some cafeA defector from the petty warsThat shell shock love away
-- "Hejira," written by Joni Mitchell, first appears on her album of the same name

Last Sunday,
the number of US military people killed in the Iraq War since the start
of the illegal war was 4488. Tonight? PDF format warning, DoD lists the
the number of Americans killed serving in Iraq at 4488.

IANS reports 3 people died in violence today in Iraq with nine more injured.

Multinationals are ripping us off by shrinking products while keeping prices the same.The process is known as “shrink-ray”.The Which? consumer group found that a 405g jar of Branston pickle has shrunk to 360g for the same price.A pack of Birds Eye Chicken was cut from 360g to 340g, while a tub of
Dairylea spread shrank from 200g to 160g—a cut of 20 percent.Kraft, which owns Dairylea, announced a 22 percent leap in its quarterly profits in November last year.

About Me

We do not open attachments. Stop e-mailing them. Threats and abusive e-mail are not covered by any privacy rule. This isn't to the reporters at a certain paper (keep 'em coming, they are funny). This is for the likes of failed comics who think they can threaten via e-mails and then whine, "E-mails are supposed to be private." E-mail threats will be turned over to the FBI and they will be noted here with the names and anything I feel like quoting.
This also applies to anyone writing to complain about a friend of mine. That's not why the public account exists.